I READ Mark Smith's article on artificial meat with amusement and despair ("Where's the beef with artificial meat?", The Herald, August 1).

While I have no objections to his vegetarian lifestyle choice - each to his own - I believe he is misguided in some of his statements.

As a farmer, I am shocked to read his claims of bad treatment of animals. This is certainly not the case here in Aberdeenshire. Our cattle are fed on grassland that cannot be cultivated or at the very least not economically, where the cattle live happy lives. They then go to the slaughterhouse where they are killed in a humane way.

Mark Smith speaks about the "absurdity" of only eating part of the carcass. I would ask him if he consumes every part the food he eats? For example, would he eat the shaws of potatoes? Would he eat the skin of a banana? In fact, it could be suggested that all farmed food sources are inefficient by his logic.

The best way to get a great-tasting, locally and sustainably produced humane source of meat is to buy the real deal - Scotch Beef.

John Lind (Jr),

Balgove Farm,

Oldmeldrum,

Inverurie.